The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-20
IS THE YOUNG MAN SAFE?
REV. NEANDER WOODS SERMON
UPON ABSALOM'S LIFE.

OGON -AbSAlINDNl LIFE.
Lack Of Parental Fidelity the Great
Evil-Some characteristics of King
Davic's Handsome But Hayward
Son-The Causes that Led to His Fall
Leading the Young Men of To-Day to
the Same End.
Rev Neander Woods preached 20 large
congregation at the First Presbyterian
church last night His text was from ,
Samuel xviii: %: is the young man Alb
SALON. safer
The sermon was to parents. The solici-
tude for the welfare OF ones own children
is the first dictate Of the parental heart, the
preacher began Parents who are devoid
of this solicitude are called inhuman. We
rarely find father and mother who have
no real concern for their children, but in
thousands of cases the solicitude comes
too late 1t was but natural
that David, standing by the gate of Ma
hanaim, and watching the army filing out
by hundreds and thousands to battle against
his rebelous son, should say to all OF his
generals: Deal gently for my sake, with
the young man Absalom," as if to say:
"Wbile crushing this treacherous revolt,
spare my son"
DAVID'S PITY FOR HIS son.
Those touching words were but the
breathings OF fathers pity Equally ma
tural was David's eager inquiry of the fleet
footed courier from the battlefield, lis the
young man. Absalonl, safer But natural
as this tender solicitude was. it came too late.
Absalom was dead and his nlutilated body
lay in a pit under pile of stones He was
gone to where parental pity could never
reach him. The inexpressibly sad feature
was that David, like thousands of good
men at this day, began to feel solicitous for
his son twenty or thirty years too late The
time for concern was when AbSalom was a
child.
ABsALoSi's AWFUL END.
The preachers first conclusion was that a
course of sin prepared the way for Absa-
loms awful end. The young mans wicked
ness made the result inevitable He was a
man of vanity and love of display. He was
handsome, was much admired fol. his beauty
and was what to-day would perhaps have
been called stunning" fast young man.
If he had lived in Savannah
he would have been at the head of all the
fashionable clubs. He was as ambitious
hemagogue as ever lived. For four years
he practiced demagoguery and won the peo-
pies hearts.
STAINED WITH BASE CRIMES.
His life was stained by the basest
crimes man ever commits. He murdered
his half brother Amnon after nursing his
revenge for two years, and conspired to de-
throne and destroy his own father. If all
this vanity, self-conceit, ingTatitude, ambi-
ton. malice and cruelty would not land
man in he'll then we may conclude that God
has abdicated his throne
But, the preacher went on, it was not
AbSalom S sins alone that had to do with
his disastrous end. The sins of his father,
David, were partly the cause. All through
the boys life David INDUCED him in his fol
lies and failed to rebuke his sins.
MORE AIRS THAN THE KING
Instead of restraining his vanity ne in
obliged it and allowed him TO put on more
airs than the King himself. BY the law
death was the penalty be deserved for muir
dering Amnon, but after three years alb
sence David psrdoned him absolutely
Fatherly feelings triumphed over kingly
duty and AbSalOm was spared
The preacher referred to David's crimes
in the matter of Bathsheha and her husband
The Kings own wickedness was utterly in
excrsable, base and contemplate.
THE RESULTS OF SIN
Having shown that Absalom's awful end
was the necessary result of the sins of him
self and his father, he noted the various ele-
mingled in his cup of sorrow First. of
course, there was that ordinary sorrow
which father experiences at the death
even of a bad son. No matter how many
rejoiced over it, David could but weep
and groan. Over and above that
ordinary sorrow there were some most
until z circumstances. Absalom was
not sIk-l -.ghting on the field of battle, but
Yves flying in dismay. The enterprise that
he Has engaged in had not one single noble
feature II was selfish, ungratefll, cruel
and useless rebellion against a kind and
g ldulgent father
n BURIED IN A PIT
u He was not even accorded decent burial
Int was covered up in everlasting disgrace
<la pit But worse than all, AbsalOm per-
&hed for eternity. David had ruined his
own son. Can a father be guiltless who
seglects his childrenF 1--WE hear various
cpinions,o til preacher said in closing, ''as
IT is corruption of our political life, bribery,
etc; some say that il is infdelity and
righteousness among the educated; some
say that it is the liquor traffic and its train
OF impurities. These are all great evils, but
they are not the worst What is it then,
he asked, and he answered, lack of parental
fidelity Parent Is the young man safe!
THE SERVICES THIS WEEK.
The sermon was one of the most eloquent
and at the same time practical and forcible
that Mr.. Woods has delivered. At its con
clusion the pastor, Rev J. w. Rogan. an
nounced that the meetings that have been
IN progress will be continued thrOuCh the